Bryce Harper received plenty of clown questions at his All-Star press conference.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As expected, once the door opened inside the club level at Arrowhead Stadium this afternoon for the media's 45-minute session with members of the NL All-Star team, Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg immediately found themselves engulfed by reporters, microphones, cameras and other assorted oddities all looking to grab a minute with the Nationals' two young stars.

Sitting just to the right of his big-name teammates, Gio Gonzalez wasn't quite as big a draw, though the left-hander enjoyed the spotlight just as much.

"This is exciting," Gonzalez said. "You get an opportunity like this to have some fun, see some superstars out here, talk to them and pickRead more »

good stuff. one can question why Davey had Flores whow as 0-15 pinch hit, why he kept Burnett in after the second hit, etc…However, I think yesterday's loss was the best thing to happen to the Nats, they will go into Mimai re focused and ticked offon another note, when will Lannan be called up?

Miami is a good place to go after the break. Lots of guys live there off-season and you get to go in the air-conditioning, the Fish are in disarray, Stanton won't be playing and they have no closer. Also, we have been to the new park before and so have seen its eccentricities. On the downside, the Fish have had our number in the past. But the past is the past.

Nats have used 6 starters to date. So I was curious, who else has a stable rotation?Marlins/Reds – 5Cards/Dodgers/Giants/Nats/Indians – 6Phillies/Angels/Cubs/Pirates/M's/Braves – 7Yanks/Brewers/DiamondBacks/A's/Rays/RedSox/O's/Astros – 8Tigers/ChiSox/Mets – 9Rangers/Royals/BlueJays – 10Rockies/Twins – 11Padres 13Some pitchers only used once or twice, but I still counted them.

mick – You're joking about pulling Burnett after two hits, right? I mean, the guy's been nails for us all season, and you want to hook him after two hits?In what universe do you think Davey Johnson even thinks to have someone warm two batters into a Sean Burnett appearance? I mean, second-guessing the manager is one thing, but to suggest that Davey should have, or even COULD have, had a faster hook with Burnett yesterday is just mind-boggling.I was surprised they were even willing and able to get Gonzalez ready for after the third hit.

Actually, Gonzalez and Stammen had both been warming during the 7th inning (maybe in case JZ ran into trouble). No problem with when Davey took Burnett out. Pinch hitting Flores? Well he was already in the game (Solano had been lifted for a pinch hitter), and I expect Davey was holding DeRosa in case it went to extra innings.

on another note, when will Lannan be called up?Hopefully, and preferably NEVER. Everyone here is down on Grienke for his "attitude", and then there's Morgan … and Dukes. Lannan was PAID FAR MORE than he was worth by this team just because he went out there and did his best to eat innings for what were some pretty pathetic losing teams. But his advanced stats and normal stats did not even come close to equating to his salary demands. In point of fact he was was the worse starter in the National League relative to the number of innings he pitched.And then when he got sent down to AAA because he legitimately lost the ST competition to Ross Detwiler … his attitude changed and even now he isn't the best teammate in Syracuse. NO. Just say NO to John Lannan. I hope the Yankees and the fans take him. I'd rather have Morgan.

rarumberger said…mick – You're joking about pulling Burnett after two hits, right? I mean, the guy's been nails for us all season, and you want to hook him after two hits?uh yes, I was listing things others complained about yesterday and was making a point that even if one were to complain about it, the loss was the best thing to happen to Nats

GIO GONZALEZOn his teammates: "If it was up to me, I'd bring the whole team with us. Every single one of those guys deserves to be here." I absolutely love this guy. I love his smile. I love his fire. I love his 94 mph fastball. I love his intensity. I love everything about him.And I would trade 10 soft-tossing Tommy Milones to get one Gio.We got Gio, and we got great. It's no coincidence.

Oooh, can I play?natsfan1a said… Reposting: natsfan1a said… I don't pretend to have the know-how to be a GM, even of the armchair variety, but my initial tendency is to agree with those who have noted that these guys are prospects. We can't know with certainty how they'll pan out in the long term, imo. Of course, I suppose one could say the same for Gio (GiGo?), but he's ours now and I'm fixing to root for him. December 22, 2011 4:55 PM December 22, 2011 5:07 PM